YOU’VE SCOTT TO BE JOKING
Parker: I’m still not tomorrow... thinking about today, I have a big job to do
SCOTT PARKER reckons he would go nuts if he contemplated speculation on his future while Fulham’s Premier League status hangs by a thread.
The Londoners, nine points from safety, host Burnley – one of those teams just above them – tomorrow, probably needing maximum points from their final four fixtures to stand a chance of survival.
Yet, despite his club’s precarious position, boss Parker is being heavily linked with the vacant managerial seat at Tottenham.
And that is the last thing the Craven Cottage chief wants as the scrap to beat the drop hits crunch time.
Indeed, Parker could be forgiven for feeling slightly embarrassed even to be mentioned in relation to one of the country’s top jobs when his troops are slumped in the drop zone.
But asked if talk of Tottenham is an unwelcome distraction, he declared: “I honestly take no notice of that stuff.
“Trying to understand the noise and what’s being said would drive you mad – you’d be going crazy at the thought if it.
“Not just what you’re insinuating
(about Spurs) but everything.
“Every week there’s a different story – about the way we play or don’t play, what’s right and wrong, who’s leaving or that player’s not happy.
“I just
focus on myself, where we are as a team – and that’s Burnley on Monday and then it moves on to Southampton.
“At the end of the season, we’ll sit down and have deeper discussions – not about what you’re talking
about – but things like where are we going and who’s done well?
“Until that time I’m not wasting my time, becoming weaker, less of a coach and less of a manager because my energy levels are low and I’m focusing on something that’s an irrelevance.”
Parker and the Fulham hierarchy will have plenty to ponder in June whatever the outcome of their desperate bid to stay up. With eight loanees in their squad, planning for a promotion charge in
the
Championship next season is certain to be complicated.
Parker, though, rubbishes the idea that having so many temporary signings is to blame for the club’s plight at the Premier
League basement. He added: “Getting the balance right is always a challenge.
“And, as it gets towards the end of the season, it can be a worry.
“But whether they are here or not next season, the players are playing in the best league in the world and the spotlight is on them.
“Whether someone’s drive is for Fulham or not, there’s no right or wrong. They understand that.
“I don’t see that being an issue – and it won’t be the reason, if we fail this year.”
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Whether they are here or not next season, the players are playing in the best league in the world and the spotlight is on them